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veraann's review
5.0
Dresden Series Book #4
I got into this one better then the previous ones. Had some funny humor for me. Things came together and I liked the flow of action in this one.
I got into this one better then the previous ones. Had some funny humor for me. Things came together and I liked the flow of action in this one.
ar3mis's review
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
richter10's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snoopydoo77's review
5.0
Wow. Is all I can say while we get further and further into the Dresden world. Things are really picking up and things are getting complicated as well, not only for Harry but for us that are following him on his never ending journey.
There is not much I can say without spoiling it so I will again try to just make it short and sweet.
One big thing besides the Susan issue and the consequences from last book is happening to Harry. Quiet the twist as the past haunts Harry in a unexpected way. I’m really looking forwad to learn and hear more but hope it will not take over the whole story arc, but I doubt it.
Harry really has his hands full this book. We meet the council and of course he is in trouble with them as mentioned before. He has to proof himself. That sounds easier that done as now things get mixed up with the fairies. Fairies and other creatures are a big part of this book and we learn a lot more about the Never-never (?!) and also the faries and their politics.
I still if not even more love the friendship between Harry and Murphy. I love their dynamic and hope it will never be more than friends. Also the next time the meet in Wal mart I want in.
Susan, we don’t get a lot of her and while a lot of about her we don’t see her all that much and I must say I really missed her.
The same goes with Michael, we don’t get him this book but I’m really hoping we get him back.
Bob and Toot are just the best. Tho I must say Toot reminds me a lot of Jenks from “The Hollows” series maybe that will change.
Hmm what else can I say without spoiling the fun, OH .We meet Billy and the wolves again and they are actually a big part of the book, which I really enjoyed.
Overall there was so much happening it was mayhem but I loved every bit of it ……… lots of twists, action and of course Harry trying to sacrifice himself for his friends, but also lots of snark and humor along with some heartbreak. So, in short a rollercoaster of a book.
I’m looking forward to the next book, to see how certain things turn out and what trouble Harry can get into next. One thing so far I enjoy is that each book, leaves things open but yet somehow ends peacefully with something resolved and not a huge cliffhanger.
I rate this book 5★
daumari's review
4.0
Hm. Had I actually read this far before the short-lived Dresden Files campaign I played in, I might've gone for a Fae character (and done the roleplay better than the minmaxer who picked faerie in our group...). Combination of murder mystery, urban fantasy, and (mostly in the names) allusions to Renaissance literature works wonderfully, strangely well.
rowindh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
eesh25's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
It’s been six months since I read Grave Peril, and I’m glad to have taken the time away from the series. Just because I decided to continue past three books doesn’t mean I had to do it right away. I needed time to replenish my patience. This book was… at least an improvement in the amount of Fuck You’s.
For those who don’t know, I started a Fuck You counter during the last book for every time the book gave a needlessly detailed physical description of a women. Such descriptions of a woman whose sole purpose in the story is seduction get a pass. Any others do not. The Fuck You counter ended at 13 in the last book. In this one, it only got to 6. And one of them was for the occurrence of “poor Murphy” twice in one scene. Definitely an improvement. And I almost liked Murphy in this book.
The book deals with the consequences of the previous book because Dresden is in trouble with the White Council again. There are also Faerie courts involved and I like getting to know more about them. And Dresden is hired by Mab to solve a murder. The mystery was adequately done. The identity of the killer didn't surprise me, but there were elements of the murder plot that really did. The final showdown was fun too. We also got more of a look into Dresden’s past. I might not like him but he is the protagonist, so it’s good to know more about him.
Speaking of not liking Dresden, it’s at least partially because of how desperately the book tries to get you to like him. Every book has to have people telling him he’s a “good guy.” And Dresden can’t do anything decent without an internal monologue about what he’s ricking and how he doesn’t have to do this, but that he’s too good a person not to. It pisses me off.
You know what else pisses me off, Dresden’s idea of chivalry, which basically means that he finds women incapable of anything. I might have said this before, but a women could literally try to murder him and he’d call himself an asshole for forcing her to do it. Because god forbid a women try to murder him of her own volition, perhaps because of how fucking patronising he is! If the series could just start acknowledging Dresden as a flawed person, it would get so much better. And I don’t mean bullshit flaws like caring too much or being too chivalrous.
I also wasn’t a big fan of how Butcher introduced obstacles for Dresden. I know the story needs to be manoeuvred in certain directions, but instead of the whole Dresden has a plan but evil/asshole person is evil/an ass, and won’t let him do anything, you could be subtle about it. Speaking of assholes, if someone could just drop Morgan in a wood chipper or something, that would be great, thanks.
Overall, this was about on par with the last book. It didn’t annoy me as much I think, but I still need these books to get better before I can truly give a fuck about the series.
It’s been six months since I read Grave Peril, and I’m glad to have taken the time away from the series. Just because I decided to continue past three books doesn’t mean I had to do it right away. I needed time to replenish my patience. This book was… at least an improvement in the amount of Fuck You’s.
For those who don’t know, I started a Fuck You counter during the last book for every time the book gave a needlessly detailed physical description of a women. Such descriptions of a woman whose sole purpose in the story is seduction get a pass. Any others do not. The Fuck You counter ended at 13 in the last book. In this one, it only got to 6. And one of them was for the occurrence of “poor Murphy” twice in one scene. Definitely an improvement. And I almost liked Murphy in this book.
The book deals with the consequences of the previous book because Dresden is in trouble with the White Council again. There are also Faerie courts involved and I like getting to know more about them. And Dresden is hired by Mab to solve a murder. The mystery was adequately done. The identity of the killer didn't surprise me, but there were elements of the murder plot that really did. The final showdown was fun too. We also got more of a look into Dresden’s past. I might not like him but he is the protagonist, so it’s good to know more about him.
Speaking of not liking Dresden, it’s at least partially because of how desperately the book tries to get you to like him. Every book has to have people telling him he’s a “good guy.” And Dresden can’t do anything decent without an internal monologue about what he’s ricking and how he doesn’t have to do this, but that he’s too good a person not to. It pisses me off.
You know what else pisses me off, Dresden’s idea of chivalry, which basically means that he finds women incapable of anything. I might have said this before, but a women could literally try to murder him and he’d call himself an asshole for forcing her to do it. Because god forbid a women try to murder him of her own volition, perhaps because of how fucking patronising he is! If the series could just start acknowledging Dresden as a flawed person, it would get so much better. And I don’t mean bullshit flaws like caring too much or being too chivalrous.
I also wasn’t a big fan of how Butcher introduced obstacles for Dresden. I know the story needs to be manoeuvred in certain directions, but instead of the whole Dresden has a plan but evil/asshole person is evil/an ass, and won’t let him do anything, you could be subtle about it. Speaking of assholes, if someone could just drop Morgan in a wood chipper or something, that would be great, thanks.
Overall, this was about on par with the last book. It didn’t annoy me as much I think, but I still need these books to get better before I can truly give a fuck about the series.
kathydavie's review
5.0
Fourth in the Dresden Files urban fantasy series revolving around a White Council wizard named Harry Dresden. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of The Dresden Files books on my website.
My Take
It’s all about balance, and I don’t think Elaine has any. You can judge for yourself as Butcher includes a bit of Elaine and Harry’s past shared history.
I don’t know how Butcher manages to come up with so many problems for Harry. His cup definitely overfloweth between the Council wanting to give him to the vampires --- screw the precedent, Elaine returning from the dead, Susan not quite dead, Mab insisting on his aid, Warden Morgan trying to trick him to death, Red Court assassins coming out of the woodwork --- and targeting his friends, and that elevator still giving him a problem, lol.
It’s so Harry to have his cat use his good robe for a litter box. That old plaid flannel oughta make an interesting impression, lol. Then there’s Toot-toot. Hey, I’m with Toot. I’d do almost anything for pizza too! I did crack up over his military titles for his team: Loo Tender, Caption, Star Jump, Corpse Oral (ewww), Generous, and First and Second Class Privys. When Toot tells everyone to “fall apart for messy”, well that sounds about right too, *giggle*.
When ya think about it, one of the fun things about the Dresden Files is Butcher’s guy-ness. He brings that guy sense of snarky humor into this, and you can’t help but laugh. From his snarky throw down to Morgan about porn movies and baby oil for one to that cold glass of water down his pants front to the taunts he’ll lay on the frightened Murphy. Hey, trust me, Harry is a full-service snarkfest who will take anyone on, a truth you'll see when Harry calls Maeve on her disrespect.
Matty says something about “you know what he was meant to be”, and I’m still wondering what she meant by that. Hmmm… Then there’s Aurora’s comment about how Harry has been meant to be a destroyer.
Yup, you’d’a thought such long-lived creatures as wizards would remember their history, that appeasement never works.
That’s good. Butcher has come up with a good reason for those toads and created a horrendous problem for Harry to fix. It’s all back to balance.
Yep, Harry has a good point: all the marvels of airplane travel, and we still complain. Maybe it's that balance thing again?
That sentence, “until some faery soldier rips your legs off”, hit me funny. There’s the pejorative use of faery used to refer to gay people implying that they couldn’t possibly be manly enough to be real men, and yet, lol, faeries are strong enough to do just that --- rip the legs of anything they choose.
The Story
It’s raining toads, and we can only hope that it’s a bored faerie making them.
Seems that Harry has been neglecting business while he strives to survive the Red Court assassins after him. And his faerie godmother has handed off her control of him to a more powerful --- and terrifying --- entity! And she’s offering Harry a deal too good to be true.
Meanwhile war has broken out between the White Council and the Red Court of Vampires. The vampires expect the wizards to give them Harry --- and they’re considering it! Unless Harry can get Mab to grant the wizards safe passage through the Nevernever. Only Elaine needs to succeed as the Summer Emmissary which requires her success and not Harry’s.
The Characters
Harry “Hoss” Dresden is a wizard working as a private investigator and sometime-consultant to the Chicago Police Department --- he claims he’s a “brawny thug” who’s “noisy as hell”. Mister is his huge cat. The Blue Beetle is Harry’s beat-up, multi-colored Volkswagen, the only vehicle that can survive a wizard — most things manufactured after World War II don’t do well around wizards. Susan Rodriguez, a reporter for the Midwestern Arcane, is/was Harry’s girlfriend until he thinks he got her killed in Grave Peril, 3. Harry has been an apprentice to Justin DuMorne and Simon Pietrovich. Elaine was Harry’s first love, until she turned to black magic along with Justin DuMorne. Bob the Skull has a fetish for romance novels and an encyclopedic knowledge of spells.
The Chicago PD
The courageous Lieutenant Karrin Murphy heads up Special Investigations and is still suffering from night terrors about Kravos (see Grave Peril). The position is a slot into which disgraced policemen (or –women) are tossed since they never last very long. But Karrin is the first to hire a wizard consultant. Gregory Taggart was her first husband.
The Alphas
The Alphas are a pack of werewolves we first met in Fool Moon, 2. Billy and his team are patrolling for bad guys. Georgia is Billy’s girlfriend. Phil and Greg are fellow pack members.
Ms. Sommerset is a potential client.
The Courts of Faerie
The Nevernever is an entirety of spirit; those parts nearest the human world are “almost completely controlled by the Sidhe” and called Faerie. The Knights receive their power, the mantle, from the relevant court, and they must maintain a balance. Mortal, they are the court’s champion and acts for them in problems that are not strictly sidhe. Each court has three queens: the Queen Who Was --- the Mother, the Queen Who Is (the current reigning queen), and the Queen Who Is To Come --- the Lady.
The Winter Court
Mab, the Winter Queen of Air and Darkness. And she owns his ass. The Mother is also known as the unmaker, the destroyer. Leanansidhe is Harry’s faerie godmother. Maeve is the Winter Lady with a court in Undertown. Grimalkin is Harry’s guide to the Lady. Jen is an undine Maeve offers up to Harry. Lloyd Slate is the current Winter Knight, violent, vicious, and addicted to heroin. And if this is an example of the usual treatment, I don’t blame him for his actions.
The Summer Court
Titania is the Summer Queen. Elaine is the Summer Emissary. Ronald Reuel, an artist, is the Summer Knight. Aurora is the Summer Lady. Korrick is a centaur and a blacksmith. Lord Talos is one of Aurora’s advisors and Lord Marshall of the Summer Court.
Grum is an ogre, a wyldfae, and works for either side. The chlorofiend does sound better than plant monster. More cartoony *grin*.
Ace, Fix, Meryl, and Lily are changelings and were friends of Reuel’s; they have a strange way of delivering an apology. Toot-toot is a minor faerie who can be enticed into helping Harry. Elidee is a tiny fae who owes Toot-toot a favor.
The Red Vampire Court
The Tigress is a LaChaise ghoul and one of the assassins after Harry. Duke Ortega is its war leader with a demand of the White Council.
The White Council
The White Council of Wizardry is run by the Senior Council which consists of the Merlin, a.k.a., Alfred, as leader (and very anti-Harry); Martha “Matty” Liberty; Listens to Wind, a.k.a, Injun Joe, with his sidekick; Ebenezar McCoy, a powerful wizard who stepped up for Harry and took him home to Hog Hollow, Missouri; Aleron LaFortier; Ancient Mai; and, Gatekeeper (Rashid).
The Wardens are the police force for the Council. Morgan is one of the Wardens. Wardhounds are dog statues that can detect threats. Tera West. Simon Pietrovich was a Senior Council member, their vampire expert, until he was killed in Archangel. Klaus Schneider is a senior wizard. Peabody appears to be the Council secretary. Other wizards include Montjoy, Gomez, and Luciozzi.
Evocation magic is kaboom magic and difficult to master; not one of Harry’s strong points. Changelings are half-mortal and half-fae. Until they decide to go mortal or fae, they’re under the jurisdiction of the fae parent. The Sight, a.k.a., the Third Eye, allows wizards to see the forces of magic.
The Cover and Title
At first glance, the cover appears summery with that blaze of yellow light radiating out from the center, but as you get closer to the details *eye roll*, it becomes most sinister with those glowing-eyed wolves stalking up to Harry, a Harry who appears to be concentrating hard for his head is down and his staff is blazing.
The title is the office this story revolves around: the Summer Knight.
My Take
It’s all about balance, and I don’t think Elaine has any. You can judge for yourself as Butcher includes a bit of Elaine and Harry’s past shared history.
I don’t know how Butcher manages to come up with so many problems for Harry. His cup definitely overfloweth between the Council wanting to give him to the vampires --- screw the precedent, Elaine returning from the dead, Susan not quite dead, Mab insisting on his aid, Warden Morgan trying to trick him to death, Red Court assassins coming out of the woodwork --- and targeting his friends, and that elevator still giving him a problem, lol.
It’s so Harry to have his cat use his good robe for a litter box. That old plaid flannel oughta make an interesting impression, lol. Then there’s Toot-toot. Hey, I’m with Toot. I’d do almost anything for pizza too! I did crack up over his military titles for his team: Loo Tender, Caption, Star Jump, Corpse Oral (ewww), Generous, and First and Second Class Privys. When Toot tells everyone to “fall apart for messy”, well that sounds about right too, *giggle*.
When ya think about it, one of the fun things about the Dresden Files is Butcher’s guy-ness. He brings that guy sense of snarky humor into this, and you can’t help but laugh. From his snarky throw down to Morgan about porn movies and baby oil for one to that cold glass of water down his pants front to the taunts he’ll lay on the frightened Murphy. Hey, trust me, Harry is a full-service snarkfest who will take anyone on, a truth you'll see when Harry calls Maeve on her disrespect.
Matty says something about “you know what he was meant to be”, and I’m still wondering what she meant by that. Hmmm… Then there’s Aurora’s comment about how Harry has been meant to be a destroyer.
Yup, you’d’a thought such long-lived creatures as wizards would remember their history, that appeasement never works.
That’s good. Butcher has come up with a good reason for those toads and created a horrendous problem for Harry to fix. It’s all back to balance.
Yep, Harry has a good point: all the marvels of airplane travel, and we still complain. Maybe it's that balance thing again?
That sentence, “until some faery soldier rips your legs off”, hit me funny. There’s the pejorative use of faery used to refer to gay people implying that they couldn’t possibly be manly enough to be real men, and yet, lol, faeries are strong enough to do just that --- rip the legs of anything they choose.
The Story
It’s raining toads, and we can only hope that it’s a bored faerie making them.
Seems that Harry has been neglecting business while he strives to survive the Red Court assassins after him. And his faerie godmother has handed off her control of him to a more powerful --- and terrifying --- entity! And she’s offering Harry a deal too good to be true.
Meanwhile war has broken out between the White Council and the Red Court of Vampires. The vampires expect the wizards to give them Harry --- and they’re considering it! Unless Harry can get Mab to grant the wizards safe passage through the Nevernever. Only Elaine needs to succeed as the Summer Emmissary which requires her success and not Harry’s.
The Characters
Harry “Hoss” Dresden is a wizard working as a private investigator and sometime-consultant to the Chicago Police Department --- he claims he’s a “brawny thug” who’s “noisy as hell”. Mister is his huge cat. The Blue Beetle is Harry’s beat-up, multi-colored Volkswagen, the only vehicle that can survive a wizard — most things manufactured after World War II don’t do well around wizards. Susan Rodriguez, a reporter for the Midwestern Arcane, is/was Harry’s girlfriend until he thinks he got her killed in Grave Peril, 3. Harry has been an apprentice to Justin DuMorne and Simon Pietrovich. Elaine was Harry’s first love, until she turned to black magic along with Justin DuMorne. Bob the Skull has a fetish for romance novels and an encyclopedic knowledge of spells.
The Chicago PD
The courageous Lieutenant Karrin Murphy heads up Special Investigations and is still suffering from night terrors about Kravos (see Grave Peril). The position is a slot into which disgraced policemen (or –women) are tossed since they never last very long. But Karrin is the first to hire a wizard consultant. Gregory Taggart was her first husband.
The Alphas
The Alphas are a pack of werewolves we first met in Fool Moon, 2. Billy and his team are patrolling for bad guys. Georgia is Billy’s girlfriend. Phil and Greg are fellow pack members.
Ms. Sommerset is a potential client.
The Courts of Faerie
The Nevernever is an entirety of spirit; those parts nearest the human world are “almost completely controlled by the Sidhe” and called Faerie. The Knights receive their power, the mantle, from the relevant court, and they must maintain a balance. Mortal, they are the court’s champion and acts for them in problems that are not strictly sidhe. Each court has three queens: the Queen Who Was --- the Mother, the Queen Who Is (the current reigning queen), and the Queen Who Is To Come --- the Lady.
The Winter Court
Mab, the Winter Queen of Air and Darkness. And she owns his ass. The Mother is also known as the unmaker, the destroyer. Leanansidhe is Harry’s faerie godmother. Maeve is the Winter Lady with a court in Undertown. Grimalkin is Harry’s guide to the Lady. Jen is an undine Maeve offers up to Harry. Lloyd Slate is the current Winter Knight, violent, vicious, and addicted to heroin. And if this is an example of the usual treatment, I don’t blame him for his actions.
The Summer Court
Titania is the Summer Queen. Elaine is the Summer Emissary. Ronald Reuel, an artist, is the Summer Knight. Aurora is the Summer Lady. Korrick is a centaur and a blacksmith. Lord Talos is one of Aurora’s advisors and Lord Marshall of the Summer Court.
Grum is an ogre, a wyldfae, and works for either side. The chlorofiend does sound better than plant monster. More cartoony *grin*.
Ace, Fix, Meryl, and Lily are changelings and were friends of Reuel’s; they have a strange way of delivering an apology. Toot-toot is a minor faerie who can be enticed into helping Harry. Elidee is a tiny fae who owes Toot-toot a favor.
The Red Vampire Court
The Tigress is a LaChaise ghoul and one of the assassins after Harry. Duke Ortega is its war leader with a demand of the White Council.
The White Council
The White Council of Wizardry is run by the Senior Council which consists of the Merlin, a.k.a., Alfred, as leader (and very anti-Harry); Martha “Matty” Liberty; Listens to Wind, a.k.a, Injun Joe, with his sidekick; Ebenezar McCoy, a powerful wizard who stepped up for Harry and took him home to Hog Hollow, Missouri; Aleron LaFortier; Ancient Mai; and, Gatekeeper (Rashid).
The Wardens are the police force for the Council. Morgan is one of the Wardens. Wardhounds are dog statues that can detect threats. Tera West. Simon Pietrovich was a Senior Council member, their vampire expert, until he was killed in Archangel. Klaus Schneider is a senior wizard. Peabody appears to be the Council secretary. Other wizards include Montjoy, Gomez, and Luciozzi.
Evocation magic is kaboom magic and difficult to master; not one of Harry’s strong points. Changelings are half-mortal and half-fae. Until they decide to go mortal or fae, they’re under the jurisdiction of the fae parent. The Sight, a.k.a., the Third Eye, allows wizards to see the forces of magic.
The Cover and Title
At first glance, the cover appears summery with that blaze of yellow light radiating out from the center, but as you get closer to the details *eye roll*, it becomes most sinister with those glowing-eyed wolves stalking up to Harry, a Harry who appears to be concentrating hard for his head is down and his staff is blazing.
The title is the office this story revolves around: the Summer Knight.
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed [b:Summer Knight|91478|Summer Knight (The Dresden Files, #4)|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1345557469s/91478.jpg|912988] far more than [b:Grave Peril|91476|Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, #3)|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1345557222s/91476.jpg|803205], but it was still not at all [a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205261964p2/10746.jpg] at his best. That being said, I have a weakness for stories about the Fae, particularly when they behave badly. The introduction of multiple queens fascinated me. Overall, this book is a four, barely, if only because of the tension. It felt more real than the prior book.
maelenkay's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5